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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million united state dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs.Wendy Jane Williams" <mrs.janeewewilliams@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrs.janwewilliamsss1@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 2021 02:34:52 +0200
Subject:
Dearest Friend in the Lord,
Sorry to bother you with my letter.
I found your profile in an Orphanage/Charity directory with your
contact information attached to it. Taking into consideration your
status and result oriented profile i consider a perfect choice to
achieve result in this project.I am Mrs. Wendy Jane Williams from
South Africa, a cancer patient, married to late Dr McCauley Scott
Williams who was a very successful Gold businessman. I am donating the
sum of $30.5 million United State Dollars to you for charity works in
Your Country.I want you to use it and help the underprivileged and
widows since i cannot do it myself due to my cancer problem, my
doctors have revealed that i will not last long. I hope you accept my
kind gesture.
I wait for your reply for details.
Mrs. Wendy Jane Williams
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Anti-fraud resources:
